What was the secret? They wanted to know, in a thousand different ways they wanted to know THE SECRET. And not one of them was prepared, truly prepared to believe that it had not so much to do with chemicals and zippy mental tricks as with that most unprofound and sometimes heart rending process of removing, molecule by molecule, the very tough rubber that comprised the bottom of his running shoes. - John L. Parker

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Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Race Recap: Race to Empower 5k

About a week and half ago I ran the Race to Empower 5k, which is the fourth race in the Hermes Road Race Series. It is also the first and only 5k of this training cycle so I really wanted to PR. I also really wanted to break 16. After, Malachi I felt that I was in shape to break 16, but I knew that this course would be tough. It's basically downhill the first mile, flat the second mile and uphill the last mile. The race took place near the Cleveland Clinic main campus and went down MLK through Rockefeller Park.

Everyone at the start; I look very confused.

The race started by immediately making a left turn on to Euclid. I stupidly allowed myself to get boxed in around the the turn and couldn't run free until about 200m in. From there I got into a rhythm but at the first mile mark I was at 5:08, too slow to break 16 considering it was downhill to that point. The second mile was a bit slower and I was 10:27 (I think) at the 2 mile. The third mile was of course the slowest as we came back up the hill. I finished in 16:37, 2nd overall and first in my age group. I was also 2nd among race series participants which now puts me in 2nd overall in the race series.

I was a little disappointed in this race because I really feel like I'm in better shape than I was when I ran my PR and I'm not running another 5k again for a while. I think that breaking 16 will probably one of my main goals in the fall.